1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus having a liquid ejecting head which ejects an ink containing thermoplastic resin particles from nozzles.
2. Related Art
The liquid ejecting apparatus has a liquid ejecting head and ejects various kinds of liquid from this ejecting head. As the liquid ejecting apparatus, image recorders, such as an ink jet printer and an ink jet plotter which eject ink, are known, for example. In recent years, these image recorders have been demanded to record images and the like not only on ink-absorbing recording media (landing target) which are easy to absorb ink, such as paper and cloth, but on non-ink-absorbing recording media which do not absorb ink, such as a plastic film.
In order to fix ink on the non-ink-absorbing recording media described above, one which ejects an ink containing thermoplastic resin particles, and then drying the ink landing on the recording media by a heating unit, such as a heater, to film (formed into a film) has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-221670). Thus, the filmed ink can be fixed on the non-ink-absorbing recording media.
When the ink containing thermoplastic resin particles described above is made to land on the non-ink-absorbing recording media, and then filmed, an apparent gloss feeling changes depending on the degree of irregularities of the ink film (resin film) formed in the shape of a dot. For example, when the irregularities of the ink film are small, glossy appearance is achieved, so that a high-class feeling can be imparted to a formed image. On the other hand, when the irregularities of the ink film are large, a mat appearance without gloss is achieved, and it becomes possible to suppress reflection of the surrounding light. It has not been easy to control such a gloss degree according to the intended use.